Dredge bucket pin



W 1936. c. B. ANDREWS 2,036,976

DREDGE BUCKET PIN Filed March 13, 1935 Gummy Patented Apr. 7, 1936 to Taylor-Wharton Iron 62 Steel Company,

High Bridge, N. 5., a corporation of New Jersey Application March 13, 1935, Serial No. 10,918

9 Claims.

The invention is a unit-handled dredge bucket or chain pin and means for adjustably locking it. In the assembly and operation of chain dredge buckets it is conventional practice to provide one of the ends of the linkage pin with a radially offset wing, commonly known as the head, which cooperates with a recessed portion on the bucket to prevent rotation of the pin. The buckets are recessed on both sides, so that the pin can be inserted from either side. In the early history of the art it was usual, and even at present it is common practice, to depend upon a driving fit of the head in the head slot to keep the pin from working rotatively. This is effective temporarily when pins and buckets are new, but soon the pins begin to turn slightly and the head loosens progressively as wear proceeds. ,When the pins are worn out on the barrel, they must be removed and new ones substituted. Then the already somewhat worn and widened head slots in the buckets fit the new pin heads loosely so that reciprocating rotative motion starts immediately. When the pins are not held rigidly stationary there is wear on the pins and buckets in the front eyes. Hence, the stretch of the bucket chain is much greater than when wear is confined to the pin area which bears on the bushing in the rear eye. There have been several proposals for adjustably securing the pin heads in the slots; and, while some are good in principle, it is a fact that all of them suffer the common fault that they depend upon coordination of extraneous or separate reaction devices and are not generally regarded as successful.

The object of my invention is to provide simple and efiicient means for securing the pin against rotation and against casual endwisedisplacement and in such way that it can be ad usted from time to time as becomes expedient or desirable and in such way that it can be expeditiously removed when it becomes necessary to replace it because of excessive wear or for any other reason. This object is realized by certain physical, structural and mechanical adaptations of the pin per se, whereby it may be adjustably locked Without reliance upon separate wedges, keys, and the like reacting devices operating between the pin head and its seat or otherwise.

The invention in its preferred form is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, wherein Figure 1 is a side elevational view of enough of a dredge bucket to show the application of the invention.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view seen from the left of Fig, 1.

Fig. 3 shows the pin blank, the legends indicating that the barrel or body of the pin is heat treated and that the lug head is annealed be-' fore structural modification to fit it for the purposes of the invention.

Fig. 4 is a detail view of the head after the operations of drilling, reaming, tapping and slotting.

Figs. 5 and 6 are face and edge views of the bifurcated head combined with its complemental spreader.

Bucket pins vary in size according to specifications, but frequently have a diameter of five inches or more and usually are made of forged nickel-chromium steel because of the tough hardness of that alloy steel when properly heat treated.

The blank, Fig. 3, represents a bucket pin of standard and conventional form, that is to say, it has a barrel or body portion 5 that establishes linkage relation with adjoining buckets and it has a head 6 designed to cooperate with the usual head slot on the bucket to prevent rotation of the pin.

In the practice of my invention I heat treat the blank according to any method which will insure maximum strength and wear resistance. I then anneal the head or lug portion 6 to soften it and to fit it for the ultimate purpose of the invention. The annealed head is drilled medially and transversely, as at l, at or about its root or region of integral juncture with the pin, and, as at 8, medially and in the direction of its length and inwardly of its edge. The effect of this is to establish intersecting bores or cavities. The bore 8 is reamed and taper tapped to accommodate a tapered screw threaded member 9.

The head so modified is then subjected to a slotting operation calculated to provide coincident slots It) in opposite walls of the taper bore, and ranging continuously from the mouth thereof to and including the walls of the transverse cavity i. There is thus provided a dual head construction, the two components of which are expansible or contractible in response to an entering or backing out movement of the plug or spreader 9. And advantage is taken of this to put the edge walls i i of the spaced jaws or head sections in direct locking relation with the corresponding seating provisions !2 of the bucket. It may be remarked that the gripping Walls ll of the head sections may be parallel or they may be tapered according to the nature and construction of the complemental seat. Either way is conventional practice and is followed according to the preference of the dredge operator.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that my invention provides a positive self-contained unit requiring no reactive lugs on the bucket and no loose wedges, keys or other fastening devices liable to work loose and become lost under normal operating conditions of the bucket line or when the same is idle and is being adjusted.

With my self-contained pin lock the tightening of the head sections readily may be done. In fact, after being tightened once or twice in the early stages of use, the pin will require no further attention during its service life because the spreader and head sections remain in positive mutual locking relation. I

Having described the invention, I claim:'

1. A dredge bucket or chain pin having a laterally extending head divided by a central slot to provide members capable of adjustment with relation to a head seat, and means operative lengthwise of the slot and eifective to spread or retract the head members.

2.. A dredge bucket or chain pin having an oiTset split head or lug portion to provide members that are expansible and contractible in response to the application and removal of exerted pressure to engage or disengage a head seat, and means retained by the split for applying or releasing such pressure.

3. A dredge bucket or chain pin having an oifset split head or lug portion that is expansible and contractible in response to the application and removal of exerted pressure, and a wedge in the split area and arranged for traverse lengthwise thereof.

4. A heat treated dredge bucket pin having an annealed offset head with spreadable jaws and a spreader carried by the jaws and mounted for traverse lengthwise thereof.

5. A heat treated bucket pin having an annealed head divided its efiective length to provide twin head sections, the area of division being taper bored and tapped for the reception of a screw plug for adjustably spreading the head sections whereby they may be availed of for direct locking of the pin with relation to a head seat.

6. A heat treated dredge bucket pin having an annealed head provided with a tapered bore and with coincident slots at each side thereof thereby to establish more or less resilient head sections, a member adapted to the bore and in positive engagement with the head sections to causethem to move outwardly or inwardly according to whether the member is advanced or retracted, and a relatively large opening intersecting the bottom of the bore and effective to relieve strain on the head sections.

'7. A dredge bucket having pin bearings and a head seat, in combination with a unit-handled self-contained locking pin, comprising a heat treated dredge bucketpin having'an annealed head formed asv a forkedradially directed head, the forked portion being taper bored and tapped, and a taper plug cooperating with the head sections for adjustably tightening them with relation to the head seat.

8. A heat treated dredge bucket pin of conventional type, having its head annealed and parted by a keyhole slot whereby it may be distorted for locking the pin and a member in the slot and movable radially of the head for spreading the head sections.

9. A dredge bucket having pin bearings and a seat for thehead of the pin comprising a recess defining top and bottomwalls, and a pin having a headadapted to the seat and formed as relatively spaced integralwing extensions of the pin, and means introducible 1 between the wings and arranged for traverse lengthwise thereof to cause the wings lockably to engage the walls oi the seat.

CHARLES B. ANDREWS; 

